Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Monaco, 2022

Ferrari protest Verstappen and Perez over possible pit exit violations

2022 Monaco Grand Prix

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Ferrari have protested both Red Bull drivers following today’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Race winner Sergio Perez and third-placed Max Verstappen face protests from their rivals for allegedly failing to stay on the right-hand side of the pit exit line when they rejoined the track during the race.

Onboard footage during the race showed Verstappen slid wide as he made his way out of the pits. The stewards subsequently said they had noted his team mate Sergio Perez for a possible breach of the pit lane exit rules.

No further communication followed until the stewards issued paperwork summoning both Red Bull drivers to meet them at 7:15pm local time “in relation to the two protests lodged by Scuderia Ferrari against car 1 [Verstappen] and car 11 [Perez] for allegedly failing to stay to the right of the yellow line at pit exit.”

Perez won the race ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jnr. Verstappen finished behind them in third, one place ahead of his championship rival Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari.

The quartet were covered by less than three second at the end of the race. Should either Red Bull driver be found to have infringed the rules and receive a time penalty, the Ferrari drivers would benefit.

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The protest was revealed by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner who learned of it in a telephone call as he spoke to media including RaceFans in Monaco.

“Ferrari have made a protest against Max,” Horner confirmed. He said Red Bull had looked into Verstappen’s alleged breach and “all the footage we’ve seen we’ve been content with.” There was no communication with the FIA over the incident during the race, he added.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said they believe both Red Bull drivers touched the line at the pit lane exit which has previously resulted in a penalty.

“We made the protest because we believe it was right to seek clarification,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans. “The intention of the protest is not really protesting the Red Bulls in itself, but seeking clarification on a matter which for us is obvious and clear.

“I think we believe that both Red Bulls were on the line, the yellow line exit in the pit lane, and in the past it has always been penalised with a five-second penalty. More than that, if you read the race director notes, it’s clearly written that, since Turkey 2020… that you need to stay on the right of the yellow line.

“For us it was not the case at all. So we are simply seeking clarification because for us it was an obvious decision.”

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2022 Monaco Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...
Claire Cottingham
Claire has worked in motorsport for much of her career, covering a broad mix of championships including Formula One, Formula E, the BTCC, British...

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90 comments on “Ferrari protest Verstappen and Perez over possible pit exit violations”

  1. Well, that’s how F1 is I guess; the video certainly seemed to show he did, whether it’s worth of a penalty is up to the stewards (esp. with the slippery track?), but I suppose that’s one way to make up their own mistakes today. Again, quite an F1 classic move really.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      29th May 2022, 18:27

      Yeah – I think every team would protest it if they were in a title fight. It’s just the way F1 is.

      I think considering the track conditions, the fact that he had a massive amount of opposite lock on to control a slide and it if he went over, it was only by a tiny amount, he’ll be ok.

      1. Every other driver faced the same conditions and left a margin for error. If one or two drivers slide wide because of the track conditions, that’s on them for pushing so hard on pit exit.

      2. To me ‘over is over’ regarding these lines (a bit like Norris last week).
        But at the same time ‘over is over’ for the race; Ferrari/others should’ve protested immediately. If Perez and/or Verstappen had a 5 sec penalty during the race then they could’ve taken that into account: e.g. Perez trying to open a gap and maybe then Verstappen could have pitted late in the race and go for FLAP (if the leading four had enough of a gap over Russell).

        1. TenLizards MinusOne
          29th May 2022, 19:27

          If the rule is ‘over’ then i wouldn’t say a penalty applies. He was never over i think.

          If the rule says ‘must stay to the right of the yellow line’ and that ‘touching the yellow line is considered crossing it’ then it would be a penalty.

          What do the rules say?

          1. It seems that they never went over the line (with a full tyre) thus the appeal is over.
            Over and out.

        2. Tedbakerking
          29th May 2022, 19:46

          Then Leclerc should be disqualified for not stopping at the weigh bridge during Qualis.

      3. The fact he was racing another driver while exiting the pit lane was responsible for his excess speed beyond the tyre’s capability.

      4. LOL!! Since when have they ever been lenient when it comes to such offences?

        Their attitude and it is quite correct is that if you’ve committed a track offence – then you get some kind of punishment.

        Mind you it sums up their day!!

  2. RandomMallard
    29th May 2022, 18:25

    I’ve only seen one angle of this, and from that I think it’s inconclusive. If they haven’t penalised him already, I’d be quite surprised if they did now, as it’s a pretty clear-cut offence (therefore I would expect if he had crossed, they’d have investigated/penalised, and if he hadn’t, that would be the reason for no further action). Unless Ferrari have new angles or something of course.

    1. Same. I thought from the onboard that he did cross it. Is it crossing the white line or for touching the white line? If it’s the latter, I think Red Bull can escape this.

      1. I saw the video of Verstappen only, from Leclerc’s car and he absolutely crossed the yellow line at the very end of it, literally the last few centimeters, not sure if he will get a penalty for this though. It was an oversteer, just for the reference.

  3. Rules are rules l.

    1. Redbull the Liverpool of F1 rules only apply if they in favour of them….scum

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      29th May 2022, 18:39

      They are and they state:

      Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the Stewards), any tyre of a car exiting the pit lane must not cross any line painted on the track at the pit exit for the purpose of separating cars leaving the pit lane from those on the track.

      Max clearly had a load of opposite lock on to control a slide having just driven down a wet pit lane on slick tyres. That’ll obviously be Red Bull’s argument.

      1. And that isn’t his fault? What an argument is that?

        1. Then from now on, whenever any driver goes wide in a corner or has to cut one like Sainz did it should get an instant 5 second penalty right?

          Every driver is either flawless or deserves a race ruining penalty henceforth.

          1. Pit lane incidents and offences have always, rightly, been treated more severely.

      2. @petebaldwin I can’t see how force majeure is failing to stay in the lane because you risked putting on slick tyres while the track is still wet. Force majeure is something beyond your control. Choosing the right tyres isn’t beyond Red Bull or Max’s control. After that decision, it’s down to his ability to control the car with the tyres chosen.

        1. petebaldwin (@)
          29th May 2022, 19:48

          Track was dry – pit lane was wet.

          1. @petebaldwin …and? Still not force majeure.

      3. ThreePurpleSectors (@)
        29th May 2022, 19:10

        @petebaldwin, OMG! That is some next level reaching. Opposite lock is NOT force majeure. What they are saying is if a car is stalled in the lane or there is debris blocking the lane, they can legally cross the line. Reading comprehension fails you again.

        1. petebaldwin (@)
          29th May 2022, 19:42

          No – and getting some oversteer on a wet track is not the same as deliberately crossing it.

          1. Whether deliberate or not is not the argument, this is not a force majeure, Max crossed the yellow line. Now if he is penalized now after the race has ended it would be painful to take, but this should have been investigated. And just for your reference, he got the oversteer coz he got greedy and pushed his cold tires on a wet track.

      4. TenLizards MinusOne
        29th May 2022, 19:29

        Well. There’s the answer. Now all we need to do is define ‘crossing the line’. Did he?

    3. not for Hamilton ;)

    4. Alan Thomson
      29th May 2022, 19:50

      Several sources are reporting that the protest against Perez has been dismissed.

      1. Such as?

  4. I suspect there is an element of leeway given here due to the pit exit being wet still and Verstappen being on dry tyres, the car momentarily got away from him before he corrected it.

    1. That’s called a mistake… not the car momentarily ”getting away”. If the majority of the drivers managed to keep their cars within the white lines, VER had no excuse… just the greed of pressing the acceleration too soon.

      1. I think it’s a bit different when you have a dry track and a wet pit lane but I guess we will see.

  5. Nothing will happen, but it’s the natural/correct thing to do. After all, VER was shouting to Horner instantly that SAI, who was +1sec ahead, cut the track and gained an advantage. So, RBR is not wasting absolutely any opportunity trying to inflict even the smallest penalty to Ferrari, why should Ferrari play it differently?!

    1. there is of course a difference between calling an error during the race and an official complaint.

      1. Not even us, the spectators, needed VER to tell us that SAI cut the track. The stewards didn’t need it either. Overall, I think all of us not in a car taking part in the race knows better than any driver what’s going on in the race.

    2. Alternate option: he was informing his race engineer that Sainz was making errors and vulnerable.

      I did not hear Max ask for a penalty nor did I see a protest by Red Bull, so much for “not wasting any opportunity” huh.

      1. Sainz gave back the advantage, he was more than 0.8s slower in S3 of the lap. So no chance for RBR to protest.

      2. No, the drivers don’t ask by themselves penalties for other drivers, the team principal does. And even the team principal is not asking directly, he just makes a call (last year to Masi), write a protest etc.

        No, that’s not just “informing” his engineer about what SAI was doing, it’s more to let know the stewards they know the direct competitor made some mistake. It’s like collecting evidence. Be sure that if SAI would have repeated it, Horner would have asked at least for a warning and that 1st excursion would have been mentioned too. That’s what I meant by “not wasting any opportunity”. Should have said “not wasting any POSSIBLE opportunity”.

  6. I am absolutely sure Martin Brundle also mentiond this right after he crossed the line. Was suprised already not even noted during the race.

  7. Neither Rbr nor Ferrari cannot be held responsible for this disgrace. Fire the responsible executives after a deep investigation.

  8. It’s Verstappen, the rules will be “clarified” next races, but he wont’ get penalized. WDC* after all.

    1. Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
      29th May 2022, 18:46

      Rent free, after all these months :^)

      1. @Barry Bens It gets tired me being right all the time. :)

    2. Noframingplease (@)
      29th May 2022, 19:04

      It was Perez who run wider. Max touched the line.

    3. Toby Atkinson
      29th May 2022, 23:27

      Yeah… Great… The FIA are ignoring what ever Redbull is doing. I guess we are just going to have another 2021 type season just without the Mercedes and dear God please no Michael Massi because the season will become 10X more ridiculous season. I wonder how much Christian Horner is paying the FIA so he can keep them quiet and so he can get away with more.

  9. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    29th May 2022, 18:43

    I don’t think this is a good look.

  10. From the replays, it looked like he only fully crossed after the pit lane exit line. But who knows?

    Gloves definitely off now.

  11. There no excuses really. How many other drivers in the same conditions touched the lines except the 2 RB drivers?

    1. Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
      29th May 2022, 18:48

      >two drivers from the same team had the same oversteer which is force majeur

      Not the brightest bulb I see…

      1. To call it anything but a drivers mistake is not very bright, thats true.

  12. Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
    29th May 2022, 18:47

    Stewards didn’t even note it (they did Perez though), so I can’t see them doing anything about it.

    Does show Ferrari are just as bad losers as Mercedes was last year :^)

  13. You cannot penalize the paperchamp for such a minor incident. Looks like some rogue TV director revealed it by mistake.

    1. Noframingplease (@)
      29th May 2022, 19:00

      Thanx for you wonderful argumentation. Did you really see it or just jumped the bandwagon?

    2. Steveetienne
      29th May 2022, 19:08

      Leaving the current World Driver’s Champion aside for a second I noticed yesterday’s man still can’t beat his team mate.

      1. this article is about a mistake of the paperchamp.

        1. can you stop with this childish behavior.. its getting annoying and taints the forum!

          1. I just commented on the topic of the article. You dont like it, not my problem.

          2. I say let them (RomTrain etc) continue. Verstappen knew what he was doing accepting his paper championship on those terms, this is the cost of those terms – people don’t accept him as the genuine champ.

          3. Jazz, in your opinion in situations reversed hamilton would’ve given up the title??

          4. Steveetienne
            30th May 2022, 9:03

            RomTrain (@romtrain)
            29th May 2022, 19:22

            Sainz gave back the advantage, he was more than 0.8s slower in S3 of the lap. So no chance for RBR to protest.

            (@romtrain)
            29th May 2022, 20:24

            I just commented on the topic of the article. You dont like it, not my problem

            Romtrain claiming to be commenting on the title of the article then commenting on Sainz. Methinks this young man is a little too emotionally charged when commenting, my advice would be to calm down and use reasoned judgement.

        2. Steveetienne
          30th May 2022, 8:57

          No I believe the article headline is about the 2021 & Current World Drivers Champion however many comments including some from yourself discuss other drivers. Scroll up a little where you make a point about Sainz. Yesterday’s man’s body language seems to have resigned himself to accepting Russell is the faster, hungrier more focused driver of the 2. Doubt he will ever win another race and in all likelihood retire at the end of the season on 7 WDCs, tied with the GOAT Schumacher.

  14. Ferrari protested against Perez too for crossing the line at pitlane exit.

    1. PER too?! NOW WE HAVE A CASE!

  15. If they slid off the line and gained no advantage in doing so nothing will happen. Easy enough to check from both Sainz and Leclerc on board if they got blocked. Otherwise it is just racing, it is not military regime. What if they had their tires 20cm over the line; they didn’t cause any danger neither gained an advantage it seems like. If they blocked Leclerc, Ferrari would have protested during the race.

    1. Realistically, it didn’t look like VER blocked LEC. LEC was like 2-3 car lengths behind. Still, there’s a rule and doesn’t say anything about 1, 10 or 20cm. Norris had his lap time deleted for going off-track 5cm. In my opinion, Ferrari should be more concerned about their strategies and how the car and they as a team will perform in the rest of the season if they still have hopes for the WDC, but if no RBR driver gets a +5sec penalty or 5-place penalty in the next race… NOR/McLaren for sure can join Ferrari in questioning the stewards and FIA about the consistency when it comes applying the rules.

  16. The last driver getting a penalty for crossing the pit lane exit in a race, I think was Hamilton in 2015 at Austria. Penalty was a 5 second time loss.

    1. I knew somebody got a penalty for this, but that far back?? Even less likely a penalty will be given.

  17. I can remeber Norris crossing the line completly in the wet Russia 2021. No penalty because it was wet. But I understand Ferrari can always try but if then ncident is not investigated or noted during the race it will be hard to give a time penalty after the race

    1. RandomMallard
      29th May 2022, 19:15

      Norris was coming into the pits I believe, not on the pit exit. The rules are very similar, but I think comparing them may be difficult (the weather in Russia was a very big factor in not getting Norris a penalty, while I don’t think it would go the same way for RB today).

  18. I hope they have a solid evidence this time – other than Karun Chandhok analysis – to convince the stewards to penalise both RBR drivers. If not, this is going to be cringey as hell with the strategy Harakiri.

    1. Don’t think there’s any solid evidence other than breaking the rule. The case where VER might have gained an advantage, impeded LEC or so I think it’s like inexistent. It’s only up to the stewards if they want to apply the rules by the book OR find exceptions for not applying a certain rule.

  19. The Onboard fom Max’s car made it look like he did go over the line.

    However from Leclerc’s OnBoard who was right behind him at the exit line it looked like he just about missed going over it.

    Don’t think whatever Sergio did was shown.

    1. RandomMallard
      29th May 2022, 19:53

      @stefmeister I’ve now seen Leclerc’s onboard, and I agree with you. With just those two angles, I can’t conclusively tell whether or not he crossed the pit exit line. If the stewards also can’t tell (and I have no idea if they have extra onboards or trackside cameras or anything) then it’ll be down to whether they choose “innocent until proven guilty” or “guilty until proven innocent” (although I expect they would choose the former).

  20. Ferrari are right to protest simply because nobody seems to know for sure if it was an infringement or not, and it effectively decided the race results, being Monaco and not being an actual race. Though investigating soon after the incident would be a million times better. But any notion of stewarding competence went out of the window eons ago.

    1. decided the race results? How so?
      He did not block Lec, he gained no advantage by it and the real reason for the result was a F@#k up Ferrari strategy
      ( and lec loosing a lot of time on his inters)

  21. Ralf lost a win because of that, I think it was 2001. If you can’t cross, you shouldn’t cross. Max himself said he was pushing to get out ahead of Leclerc, maybe others took the exit with extra caution, especially not to cross the line.

  22. Source: Max Verstappen

    “ Verstappen said that the wild moment exiting the pits was the result of him being super aggressive with his acceleration, which he reckoned was crucial to staying ahead of Leclerc who was right behind him.

    “I needed it,” he said about pushing so hard immediately out of the pits.

    “Otherwise he would have passed me, because I would not have the traction. My pit exit, that was probably the most fun I had in the race trying to stay ahead.”

    1. Translation: “I deliberately broke the rules to stay in front, and really enjoyed doing it.” So no changes there, then.

  23. They delete lap times for tiny offences. So why wouldn’t it apply to every thing and everyone. Especially when the person exiting the pit has the inside line all the way through the corner. Lets not just give some people a pass and penalise others. Fair is fair.

  24. Thank you.

    Guilty!

    1. Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
      29th May 2022, 20:39

      Not so smart now huh

  25. I don’t want the result to be changed now after the ceremony etc but Marshall’s need to do a better job.

  26. I don’t blame Ferrari for doing this as RedBull would do the same. They all would.
    Was Charles not crossing the pit entry line multiple times in Jeddah a few races ago and nothing was done about it?

  27. Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
    29th May 2022, 20:38

    In this case, the car did not “cross” the line – to do so it would have needed to have a full wheel to
    the left of the yellow line

    God bless the stewards

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      29th May 2022, 20:41

      There’s going to be some upset people on here after that!

  28. Neil (@neilosjames)
    29th May 2022, 20:42

    The onboard gave the impression he crossed it. Would be a bit of a silly one, but if a small time penalty is meant to be the punishment they’re within their rights to ask why it wasn’t applied. They should really have asked straight away, during the race, though.

    Suppose being able to call it a ‘asking for clarification’ rather than an outright protest helps them save a little bit of face if it’s dismissed.

  29. No penalty for PER and VER.

    So the therapy session for those who think that life is unfair can continue here…

  30. Another year of FIA favoring redbull. This stewarding is really turning f1 into a circus. Plus that delayed start was ridiculous.

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